Monday, December 21, 2009

OPSEC is the acronym that stands for operational security. It is something that I believe matters in a huge way. The only thing as important is protecting the soldiers in the field and their families back home.

Sooooooo, you might learn a thing or two about how I put a package together, or about what a group of soldiers could use, or about the consequences of care packages for a unit, or maybe a great story about soldiers or Marines that are doing remarkable things.

What you won't learn here is a blessed thing about which unit is where, who commands what unit, where the unit's home post is, an address to send packages, and so forth. I have worked hard for the past four years to earn the trust of senior NCO's and officers up and down the chain of command (not to mention some of the most exceptional FRG advisors/leaders in the Free World). I will shut this down in a heartbeat rather than jeopardize that trust. Some senior leaders may OK the occasional photo or quote, but you won't see it here if they don't authorize it.

In the end, it's about helping senior leaders look after their soldiers/Marines. If that's your cup of tea, you are in the right place. Stand by...........

After years of reading them and resisting this step, I am now writing my first blog post. Heaven help us all!

My youngest daughter, a mere child of 18 years, did every last speck of the heavy (computing) lifting to create this electronic forum, including picking out the 'look.' My wife (aka The Boss) approved the look, and that basically settled things. My second-oldest daughter (at 28, rapidly closing in on mature woman status) is coming in a few days, and the youngest tells me that her older sister will show me everything I need to know about making this work smoothly and look superb. Sometimes, I believe they are the two denizens of design in the family. Stand by for changes, I guess.

From time to time, I will post about the effort here to support soldiers, Marines and the occasional sailor and airman doing the heavy lifting in Afghanistan. There is a lot going on, and I hope to be able to share the stories of these exceptional people and maybe a photo or two along the way.